No doubt you’re well-versed with the current phrase bandied around that ‘content is king’. Yes, engaging blogging copy drives volume and virality, but the single greatest challenge to any SMB or even rapidly scaling business is the delivery of fresh and engaging content. This type of dynamic content tends to sit on a blog. Here are a few tips which will help with performance in the SERPS rankings:
- Keep it brief — depending on the sector or industry, reign in your blogposts to 350-500 words, though longer blogposts also be good given Google’s latest Panda and Penguin updates. This should include hyperlinks to relevant external sources, plus a sourced photo or video. Be sure to credit this source
- If you are crediting an image, for example, there are some great free photo library resources available, or a series of tiered pricing libraries such as Shutterstock which offer capped daily images (of varying sizes) for a monthly fee
- Moderating the masses — one of the most challenging aspects to building/nurturing a community is moderation ie. talking to your followers/fans. This is as relevant on blogs, as on any social media platforms you may oversee. Ensure your tone of voice of authentic yet informative. Note that verification tools like captcha can be a barrier to conversation, so consider where these are used (if at all) in a blogging context
- Coming together is a beginning — using SEO tools is an essential part of keyword selection. We rate SEOmoz as an excellent starter for ten. Other key considerations here include selecting an appropriate category, and set of tags which clearly reference the copy.
Here’s a screengrab we took from our WordPress account explaining this process:
Do bear in mind that blog posts can naturally rank on their own basing on its topical relevance as seen by search engines. Taking advantage of low competition keywords will do no harm to first page bid credentials on SERPs.
Commenting on blogs with the same theme as your site – particularly blogs that allow dofollow attributed links on their comment section – is a strong way to promote your site as well as in improving your keywords’ search rankings. Here is a handy list of some of our favourites. This method promotes acquiring relevant backlinks, and in many cases, can develop relationships with other bloggers related to your niche.
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Photo source here.
